


Welcome to Valorant Protocol

by CineJu



Category: VALORANT (Video Game)
Genre: Cypher is Cool, Gen, Killjoy is an arrogant little shit, but i love her, how Killjoy joined Valorant, lore for Killjoy, set after the Duelists animatic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:21:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29291277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CineJu/pseuds/CineJu
Summary: A scientist shows up uninvited at Valorant HQ and asks to join. Cypher is chosen to interrogate her and find out: who is Killjoy, and why would she want to join them?(Versão em português: Bem-vinda ao Protocolo Valorant)
Kudos: 15





	Welcome to Valorant Protocol

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Português brasileiro available: [Bem-vinda ao Protocolo Valorant](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29291346) by [CineJu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CineJu/pseuds/CineJu)



Many things had been said about Killjoy. It was said that she was a genius, that she was arrogant, that she understood radianite better than anyone, and that she would be much more friendly if she could shut up about it for more than a minute.

All of those things were true. Some were the reason why they needed her. Others were the reason why Cypher seemed hesitant to accept Killjoy into Valorant.

Not the only reasons, of course. Cypher seemed to be naturally paranoid, and normally the Valorant Protocol sought out his agents, not the other way around. All of this contributed to his distrust as the agent who had been chosen to interrogate Killjoy, and she understood perfectly, but she wasn’t worried. They needed her -- and if they didn't need her, they needed the information that only she could provide.

Cypher was a difficult person to read, even if you didn't consider the mask that obscured his face. He didn't seem to let anything slip, always in control. Well, Killjoy wasn’t good with clues and non-verbal cues, anyway -- she dealt with facts, and the facts were in her favor.

"This should be interesting," Cypher said when he entered the small interrogation room that Killjoy had been brought into when she arrived at the base. "I have a few questions for you."

"Whenever you want," she said, straightening her glasses.

"Very well. Let's start at the beginning: how did you find our HQ? ”

Killjoy smirked. “It wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be, actually. I put together an algorithm to analyze the location of each of your attacks on Kingdom, and from the relative distance I figured out some possible locations. The elimination process was pretty simple.” She leaned back in her chair. “You need to better organize the attacks in a way that doesn’t leave such an obvious trail. I could help with that too, you know.”

Cypher chuckled. "Right. And why exactly does someone like you want to join the Valorant Protocol? Considering that you are the renowned Dr. Sofie Brahms.”

"Speaking of which, you can call me Killjoy," she corrected. “You use codenames, don't you? Well, this is mine.”

"Alright, Killjoy," he repeated. He made a gesture, encouraging her to continue.

"I want to join you because Kingdom deceived me and stole my technology, and I won’t let them use it to hurt innocent people."

Even through the mask, it was easy to see that it had caught Cypher's interest. "Tell me more."

She hesitated. Did all new agents have to share their reasons, or just those who arrived without warning? Killjoy wasn’t exactly enthusiastic to talk about her troubles with Kingdom.

"We can move on to the next question, if you want," he said. “I’m sure I’ll get more details anyway. Why were you reported dead exactly two days ago?”

He slid a few newspaper clippings towards her, as if they were in a mystery show -- he certainly dressed like a mystery protagonist, in that overcoat and straight-brimmed hat. The headlines said things like "Explosion in Kingdom's laboratory raises questions about safety" and "Renowned scientist dies in accident with radianite". Killjoy hadn’t read the news, but that wasn’t unexpected for her.

"Well, I faked my own death," she said.

"That's obvious," he countered. “I'm asking why. And ‘to join Valorant Protocol’ is not a good enough answer.”

She should have known that she was going to be forced to tell more details than she’d like, but she had to try. Well, if there was no other way…

"Well, as you may know, I was the creator of the best radianite stabilization system to date," she began. Cypher nodded. “A great system, by the way. Keeps radianite perfectly stable, even in the brute state, at temperatures up to 90 degrees Celsius and even in earthquakes reaching up to 8 on the Richter scale. Under these conditions, failure is almost impossible,” she said. 

"I invented this system and kept the plans available to anyone, because anyone who studies radianite needs a way to keep it stable, and nobody wants another situation like in Venice, do they?" She tried to catch some reaction from Cypher about the incident -- it had created the region now called Ascent, considered Valorant's first major action -- but he remained perfectly unperturbed. “Well, anyway, Kingdom showed interest in my project, and offered me a position as a consultant. I could keep working on my projects, and when they had questions or needed my knowledge, I would give them priority. It was the perfect arrangement, really.

“The thing is that they started asking a lot of questions about containing explosions, about controlling the destabilization of radianite to keep a blast under control. I thought it was strange, but they said something about using radianite as an energy source and I thought it was a bad idea, radianite is way too unstable to be viable, but I didn’t think too much about it. Until the explosion in Haven made the news.”

"The official narrative about that explosion was a failure in the stabilization system," Cypher said.

"Exactly. But my system doesn't fail, ”Killjoy said. “I knew there was something strange. I was asking questions, looking for more details about what could have happened, and eventually my supervisor told me that they were testing a bomb. He said that if I was going to sneak around and find out what I shouldn't, that I could start being useful and work directly with the Spike,” she said, letting the resentment show in her voice.

“I didn't want to have anything to do with any of this, I was trying to use radianite for something actually useful, not to make bombs! But he reminded me that I had signed a contract, and that now I knew more than I should, so if I didn't behave, the next system failure could happen when I least expected it.” She let out an irritated sigh.

“So I did what I could. I couldn't sabotage the Spike, because it would be obvious that I was the one responsible, but I started looking up Valorant Protocol. When I found out where you were, I modified their Spike designs in a way that will never work, destroyed all their prototypes, stole the only real plans and faked my death. And now I'm here.”

"Interesting," Cypher said simply. 

“And that means that I'm the only person who has the plans for the Spike. And I’m the only one who can access them, because I encrypted this HD to unlock with a password that only I know, besides biometrics, of course. So if you were going to kill me and get the plans, too bad,” she laughed, and a bit of her nervousness showed.  _ Scheisse _ .

"I imagine the plans would catch your interest, since you had to steal a prototype for the Venice incident," she said, regaining her composure. “In fact, letting me join Valorant is entirely in your best interest. Besides the Spike, I’m familiar with several devices that Kingdom has been testing, and I can help with your equipment. From what I've seen since I arrived, you need it.”

Cypher didn’t respond to her provocations, nor did he let any reaction slip. It was annoying, and it left Killjoy a little lost in the conversation. She was talking too much, which surely was his goal. She definitely had to learn to shut up every now and then.

"And my last question is: how can I know you’re not a spy trying to infiltrate our operation?"

“If I were a spy, I’d be more discreet, don't you think? I’d probably try to pick your interest and I wouldn't show up here without warning, because I’d be trying to raise the least suspicion if I had something to hide,” she said.

Cypher stared at Killjoy for a moment. It was a good answer, a well thought out one. As if she had spent a lot of time thinking exactly what to answer if someone asked precisely that question. Which she had, but it seemed suspicious and Killjoy knew it. They needed her, Killjoy reminded herself. And Cypher was professional enough to realize that she wasn't hiding anything too much.

The seconds seemed like hours until Cypher smirked and said:

"Well, I think I have enough." He stood up, heading towards the door calmly.

“Hey, hold on! What did you decide? Am I in?" Killjoy asked, getting up, not calm at all.

He turned and faced her for another moment. She was about to tell Cypher to go to hell and demand he say something, but he broke the silence before her.

"Killjoy, let me be the one to welcome you to Valorant Protocol."


End file.
